


It's Captain America(Or how everyone found out that Tony Stark is Steve's biggest fan)

by thisislegit



Category: Avengers (Marvel) - All Media Types, The Avengers (2012)
Genre: Age Regression/De-Aging, M/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2012-12-28
Updated: 2012-12-28
Packaged: 2017-11-22 19:03:09
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,625
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/613196
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/thisislegit/pseuds/thisislegit
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Tony's been de-aged to that of an elementry student and the team has to deal with it until they figure out how to change him back.</p>
            </blockquote>





	It's Captain America(Or how everyone found out that Tony Stark is Steve's biggest fan)

It all started out as just another day in Manhattan, New York. Well as normal as it could get for the avengers anyway. Also by normal, that means fighting off the baddies seeking out world domination. Apparently Hammer had made some new ray, no one knew what it did exactly, but SHIELD knew it was dangerous and should be taken care of as quickly as possible before doing any damage. They sent in their best, Captain America, the world’s first avenger, Thor, the god of thunder, Hawkeye, world’s most skilled archer, Black Widow, a first-class assassin, Bruce Banner, but at this moment known as The Hulk, and the best for last obviously Iron Man, genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist. Said billionaire also had his own little hatred towards Hammer, for his many (failed) attempts at stealing his inventions.

Of course this also meant that it was Tony who was hitting the hardest. The same Tony who forgot to watch the back of Black Widow who he was commanded to keep watch on by Captain America. The same Tony who managed to blast the ray gun out of Hammer’s hand as a beam from nowhere shot towards Black Widow. The same Tony who sped over there, repulsers blaring just in time to knock her out of the way and get hit himself. The same Tony who was now being scolded by Captain America through his intercom while at the same time he being asked if he was all right.

No damage was done to the suit, and Natasha seemed all right except for the quick jostling she took after being shoved out of the way into the sidewalk. She’s used to being thrown around anyway. You had to be if you were dealing with the people she did on a daily basis. Hammer was taken down in the end, his ray considered useless, but Captain America had given him an earful before and after the ride back to headquarters for the de-briefing. Stark was ordered to go to the Medical Wing to see if any internal damage had been caused due to the ray. Tony insisted that since it was an invention of Hammer, the most it could’ve done was likely turn his arc reactor into some kind of mood ring, but Steve wasn’t buying it.

The doctors gave him a clean bill of health, which he barely managed from rubbing in Steve’s face before they all headed back to the Avengers Mansion. Thor proposed a movie night, which everyone agreed to as it was an excuse to order pizza and to sit around doing nothing for multiple hours. Tony strangely declined this offer in favor of getting some work done in the lab before heading to bed. The day was kind of taxing and Hammer had some kind of weird grunts as back-up which put a few dents in his armor.  
Steve fussed before Clint managed to convince him to let him be. Tony hadn’t completely lied when he said he didn’t want to join them for a movie night, he was just planning on going straight to bed and skipping the lab for once. It was his life he could do whatever he wanted.

That’s when all hell broke loose.

Around 3 a.m. a small figure crawled out from a bundle of blankets. A t-shirt several sizes too big draped down to his knees and he rubbed at one eye with a sleepy hand. The child was confused as he figured out he didn’t have on underwear, but shrugged it off as usual.

“Um, Sir?” said a voice from the ceiling.

“Who said that!?” the child yelled.

“Mister Stark? You’ve seemed to have shrunk overnight,” JARVIS spoke again.

“Mr. Stark is my dad! I’m just Tony. Are you our new butler? Did my dad build you? What’s your name? Do you have a hologram system? Are you all over the house or just here? Is this my new room? It doesn’t look familiar, are we on vacation? Oh oh oh! Please please pleeeasse tell me we’re in Hawaii again. I want to see Milo. Milo was cool. Do you know Milo? Do they even have stuff like you in Hawaii?” Tony said asking a million questions at once.

“Oh dear, perhaps I should get Captain Rogers,” JARVIS spoke again.

“Captain Rogers? Wait, Captain Steve Rogers?” Tony asked quietly.

“Yes sir. Captain Steve Rogers,” JARVIS answered.

“You mean Steve Rogers? Captain America? Steve Rogers who is Captain America?” Tony asked his breathing getting faster.

“Yes, the same one,” JARVIS stated.

Tony did what any child would at this age and screamed very loudly. He bolted out of his room and ran down the hall as fast as he can.

“Where am I? No where’s he?! No! Ah!” Tony was too excited to finish any thought as he saw a woman with short red hair come out of a room. He ran right into her leg before backing up and looking at her. Her eyes grew wide.

“Are you the new cleaning lady!? Know what?! Who cares?! Who cares! Captain America is here! Captain America is here!” he screamed it over and over again running past her down the opposite hallway.

“JARVIS, was that Tony?” Natasha asked rubbing her temples.

“Yes it was Ms. Romanov. I’ve just informed the dear Captain of the situation at hand. He’s awake and leaving his quarters as we speak.” JARVIS answered.

“Good,” she finished with a nod.

Tony stopped in the hallway not sure which way to go now. He hadn’t been in this house before; everything was different, confusing, and a little scary. He probably should’ve asked the new cleaning lady where he was going before dashing off like that.

“Hello?” Tony asked the ceiling again rubbing his hands together.

“Yes Mr. Stark?” JARVIS replied.

“Uhm, where’s Captain Rogers?” Tony questioned.

“I’ve lit a path for you along the floor for you to follow Mr. Stark,” JARVIS said as a light blue line appeared along the floor continuing down the hall on the right.

Tony followed it much more slowly this time and saw a big blonde man in stripped pajama bottoms and a grey t-shirt looking down the hall with a flashlight. It was the blonde man from the black and white videos his dad had showed him all the time. The Star-Spangled Man. The hero who punched Hitler. His role-model in the flesh.

“C-c-captain St-eve Rogers?” Tony stuttered as he looked at him with big eyes.

The man turned towards him shock on his features which settled into concern. “Tony? Tony right?” he said stepping towards him.

“Y-yes. A-a-are you C-captain America?” Tony asked his whole body shaking.

“Yes, yes I am,” Steve said with a nod.

“C-captain America is he-,” Tony fainted before finishing his sentence.

***

“Bruce what happened to Tony?” Steve said looking at the small form on the lab table.

“He’s been de-aged. Looks to be around 7 or 8 years old, it must’ve been the ray from yesterday,” Bruce responded noting that all of Tony’s vital signs were fine.

“But medical said he was fine, he even bragged about his clean bill of health to my face,” Steve replied growing more confused.

“Perhaps the effects of the ray have to occur over a certain span of time, either way we’ll find a way to get Tony back to normal. The ray Hammer had is being analyzed by SHIELD scientists as we speak, and even though none of them are Tony Stark, they’re still some of the best minds the world has to offer. In the meantime we have to deal with Tony accordingly. He doesn’t seem to have any memories past this point in his age so we have to be very careful of what we do and don’t tell him. He already knows you’re a super hero so I’m pretty sure the Avengers initiative is something we can’t keep under wraps from a developing genius who is probably good at hacking even at this age. Just, keep family things to a minimum unless he brings them up himself,” Bruce explained as he set down some files.

Steve nodded and lifted a still fainted Tony from the lab table carrying him upstairs to the living room. As he set him on the couch Tony’s eyes fluttered open and a yawn escaped his lips. After blinking a few times he sat upright and looked around until his eyes landed on Steve again. It was kind of unnerving seeing those big brown eyes so focused on him before Tony’s lips turned upward into a brilliant smile. Apparently he was missing his right front tooth as well. It was heartbreakingly adorable.

“It wasn’t a dream was it? You’re really here?” Tony began bouncing in his seat.

“Yeah, I’m really here Tony,” Steve smiled.

“Has my dad seen you yet? He’s been looking for you! He’s been looking for you for so long Captain! He’s told me so much about you and everything. I bet he found you too, that’s why you’re here right? You’re here because he found you like he said he would. He’s been looking for so so so so soooooo long Captain! And now you’re here and everything is going to be okay again! Where are we by the way? Is this our new house? Is this your house? Did my dad build it for you? Is that why there’s a talking butler in the ceiling? Is he supposed to help you figure out stuff? He still hasn’t told me his name yet-,” Tony babbled on.

“It’s JARVIS sir,” the AI responded.

“All right JARVIS, you’re really cool. I want a JARVIS. Do you think my dad will let me have one too? Does JARVIS do more than talk from the ceiling and make the floor glow at night?”

“Tony, Tony. Slow down all right. One thing at a time,” Steve said putting his hands onto his tiny shoulders.

“Yes sir Captain Sir!” he saluted.

“Now, uh, your dad did find me, and this is the building he built for the new superhero group that I lead to fight bad guys, and-“

“Bad guys like the Red Skull?!”

“Yes Tony, like him.”

“And all the superheroes live here too?”

“Yes Tony.”

“And you all fight crime and my dad helps build things that you guys can use to fight them right?”

“Well your dad doesn’t do that, but a very smart inventor does.”

“Where is my dad, and my mom too by the way?”

“They’re away on business. You see since I woke- er was found, Howard, wanted to find the things that I had lost before I went away so he took your mom off on a trip to find them all, and as a surprise to you is letting you stay with me and my superhero group until he comes back,” Steve explained with a flourish.

“So you’re telling me, that I get to stay with a bunch of superheroes until my parents come back which will be how long?”

“2-3 weeks at the most is what he told me anyway.”

“Awesome,” Tony said with awe.

“Now, do you want breakfast?”

“Yes sir Captain Sir!”

“You know Tony you can just call me Steve.”

“Okay,” Tony said with a small smile.

God those looks of adoration where going to kill his heart, especially with who they were coming from. As he got Tony settled onto a stool at the island in the kitchen he began getting out pans to cook breakfast with. Clint slinked in sitting opposite of Tony giving him a hard glance.

“What kind of powers do you have? Super strength? Super speed?”

“Steve, why is a kid at our table?”

“It’s Tony.”

“….pffft,” Clint covered his mouth to keep from laughing too hard.

“I bet your super power sucks whatever it is.”

Clint sobered up quickly before looking Tony right in the eye and saying,” I can shoot a target from any distance with any object.”

Tony’s eyes widened before he asked, “Like Link from Legend of Zelda?”

Clint nodded briefly as he took a napkin, and with only folding it once, tossed it right into the trash can 15 feet away. Tony attempted to do the same thing and only got his over the side of the marble counter. Natasha came in next her hair in a bun, rubbing at her neck.

“I’m sorry I called you the cleaning lady,”

Clint nearly choked on his own spit at the comment before Natasha batted him upside the head.

“Don’t do it again and you can consider us cool.”

“What’s your power? Invisibility? Shooting fire out of your hands? Flying!?”

She looked at Steve who gave her a nod before grating cheese into what she knew was going to be her omelet.

“I’m an assassin. I have the ability to disappear without a trace, kill a man without blinking, and no one can keep me captive for longer than 2 minutes,” she said.

“You’re a ninja assassin. That is so awesome!” Tony was bouncing in his seat again as Thor came in voice booming as always.

“Good morning friends! Who is this small lad joining us this morning?”

“It’s Tony.”

Thor froze before looking at Tony with wide eyes; Tony’s beginning to notice that everyone’s been doing that since he woke up. “What’s your power? I know you have to have super strength! I mean look at your arms! They’re twice the size of me!”

“I do in fact have great strength. I am Thor. Son of Odin. God of Thunder. Commander of the skies. Bringer of Storms-“

“Woah woah woah woah wait a minute. You are Thor? The Thor? As in the god Thor? Whose brother is Loki? You’re the guy with the big hammer who can summon lightning and thunder and rain and all of that!?”

“Yes.”

“Okay, let me get this straight. You guys have Captain America, a ninja assassin, the world’s best archer, and a god!”

“Don’t forget Bruce,” Natasha said. She now had a smile on her face as well. This Tony was a lot more adorable than the older one.

“Bruce? What does Bruce do? Can he fly? Or is he super smart? Can he read my mind?! Is he doing it right now?”

“When he’s mad he turns into a giant green monster that smashes buildings,” she answered.

If Tony wasn’t speechless the first time he definitely was now. Steve had finished 3 omelets and JARVIS had waffles going in the waffle iron. Coffee was being brewed but Steve had set a glass of orange juice in front of Tony who gulped down half of it before wiping his mouth with the back of his hand.

“I can’t wait til everyone at school hears about-…oh,” Tony said becoming resigned.

“What is it Tony?” Steve asked.

“I just remembered I still have to go to school while my parents are gone don’t I?”

“Er, actually…uh,” Steve fumbled for words so Natasha easily helped him out.

“You’re school is temporarily out of commission. Some bad guy named Hammer had a ray gun that blew up 2 miles of the city. You’re school is taking a summer break until   
repairs are made,” she explained swiping her omelet from the counter before Steve could protest.

“Instead we’re going to show you some of the ropes of super hero business while you’re here,” Clint added.

Tony stopped with the forkful of waffle was half-way to his mouth.

“I’m gonna learn how to be a super hero, and-and you’re gonna teach me?! With Thor and you and C-captain Ame-“

Honestly Steve wasn’t sure if Tony fainting so much was healthy.

“Ha!”

“Shut up Clint. You’d faint too if you were 8 and found out your super hero was going to teach you how to be just like them,” Natasha snarked.

“You don’t know that.”

The truth was she did know.

***

The first thing they had to deal with was getting Tony knew clothes. When Tony questioned what was wrong with the clothes he already had, Steve very well couldn’t say, they were fit to the size of a grown man and you are 8, so he opted for saying that he wanted clothes which would be good for super hero training.

“Oh yeah, that makes sense. My clothes are definitely not built to handle the taxing exercise that a super hero has to take during training,” Tony stated.

Steve took this as a victory and had Tony measured, the numbers were sent by JARVIS, and several hours later they had a new closet of clothes for Tony to wear. After he was in a pair of faded jeans, converse tennis shoes, and a red t-shirt with some logo on it Tony had brushed his hair flat. It was longer than the adult Tony would’ve let it grow. His bangs came to his eyebrows and the rest of his hair fell the same way from the tops of his ears down to the back of his neck. It reminded Steve of the little brother from the hotel movie Tony had made him watch. The one where they were trying to keep the monkey from the poacher, maybe he could show little Tony the movie since he had no memory of watching it. It was Dunston Checks In wasn’t it? Oh well, that doesn’t matter now, right now he had to make sure Tony didn’t get out of his sight.

“…..where did Tony go?” Steve said panic rising in his chest.

“I believe he stated that he was going to go learn how to lift Thor’s hammer Captain Rogers,” JARVIS filled in for him.

“Gosh darn it.” 

Steve made his way out of Tony’s room down to the gym where he knew they would be. Steve came in just as he saw Thor set down his hammer. Tony was nearly salivating at the thought of lifting it.

“Now young Anthony be mindful that Mjonir is a strong and fierce companion. It’s rare that she lets anyone wield her in battle. If she finds you worthy you should also be able to lift her as I have,” Thor explained sitting down cross-legged. Tony decided to mimic his action and sit across from Thor with Mjonir resting between them.

“Do you think yourself worthy of wielding her young Anthony?”

“I don’t know. I mean, I’m not strong, and I’m not as smart as my dad. At least I think I might become as smart as my dad when I’m older. I don’t have any special talents, and well I’m not a god either,” Tony said as he touched the top of the handle.

“It is not about the talents you bear young Anthony, if Mjonir allowed people with many talents to wield her than it would be my brother to hold her instead of I. No, it is about what you have in your heart. To see a light so pure, the will to protect, to care, and to love unconditionally, this is what Mjonir wants in her wielder. I was not found worthy until I had everything stripped from me, my powers, my friends, my family, my home and it was only then that I discovered where my true power came from. Not from here,” he said as he touched Tony’s forehead.

“But from here,” he finished placing a large hand over Tony’s heart.

“What made you realize it all?”

“A lovely woman, who I owe my very life too,” Thor answered.

“Wow,” Tony whispered. He looked at the hammer and licked his lips before a look of fierce concentration came over his features. He stood up and pressed his fingers into his palms a few times before gripping the handle. He closed his eyes and pulled as hard as he could.

The hammer didn’t budge.

To say Tony was disappointed would be an understatement. Thor laughed causing Tony to cross his arms and glare at the man. “It is all right young Anthony. Mjonir would not allow me to lift her for a hundred years before I was able to take her into battle. Sit down beside me young comrade,” he said patting the spot next to him. Tony did as he said and sighed as his shoulders slumped. Thor lifted Mjonir and took Tony’s hand pressing it around the handle as well.

Steve figured that Tony was in good hands so he smiled fondly before walking down to Tony’s lab instead of Bruce’s. He’d hate to think of the repercussions had they worked in the same area for such an extended period of time as their living stay. He typed in his code and all the lights flickered on giving him a view of the mess Tony had left before he was de-aged. Everything was just as he saw it before the rush to fight Hammer. Well, at least, he thought it was. It was hard to tell with how cluttered Tony let it get on a regular basis.

He approached Tony’s work-bench seeing a bunch of small little black cylinders. New cartridges for Clint’s arrows he was told by the man two nights ago. These were supposed to release a gas that would cover a 1 mile radius knocking out any breathing life-forms in case the archer found himself alone during battle.

Steve didn’t know how long he was in there looking at Tony’s things until he got to the Iron Man suits. They all looked so pristine in their cases. Tony had even offered to build Steve one “if he asked nicely” causing him to smile at the thought.

“Wow! Are those robots?!”

Steve jumped nearly knocking over several shelves in the process.

“Tony! How did you get in here?

“JARVIS let me in. Do these belong to the inventor that makes your weapons?”

“Yes, they do. He wears these suits. People know him as Iron Man,” Steve said as he began ushering him out.

“Iron Man? Wow that name is kinda lame. What can he even do in those things?” Tony didn’t even mind that he was slowly being pushed out.

“Well he can fly, shoot lasers, blow stuff up with the lasers, and he’s a certified genius who found a new form of energy,” Steve said locking the lab behind him.

“Okay nevermind that guy sounds really cool. Will I get to meet him?”

“He’s taken a few of his suits to handle a situation in Burma, so no.”

“Ahhh okay.”

***

Several days had passed with no sign of a change happening in Tony’s state. Steve had slowly grown accustomed to Tony’s habits such as eating twice as much as he should during meals, babbling about anything that came to his mind, asking a million questions, and bugging the crap out of Clint to teach him how to shoot arrows.  
He had figured out the way to counter each of these habits as well by letting Tony have healthy snacks in between meals so he would only eat one plate of food during, exercise to get out any excess energy, answering the questions to the best of his ability and if they got too detailed simply replying with “That’s classified”, and well he hadn’t figured out the last one yet, but Clint seemed to be handling it well.

Things were going so well that Natasha, Tony, Steve and Bruce were in the middle of watching some new robot cartoon series (wonder who picked that) when they heard heels clicking down the hallway.

“Lady Pepper please do not harm him, he is not well at the moment,” Thor’s voice rang as their steps grew closer.

“Listen Thor I don’t care what state he’s in I’ve been calling for days, and I.Want.Answers.” She snapped striding into the living room.

Pepper stood in the living room, cellphone in hand, hair in a clipped pony-tail in her cleanly pressed navy blue suit. Steve bolted up from the armchair walking over to her ready to pull her out of the room before Tony stood on the couch making immediate eye-contact.

“Woah,” he muttered.

“Pepper, we need to talk,” Steve commented.

“Steve there’s an emergency,” Tony leaned over the couch.

“What emergency?”

“Pepper is the emergency. She is waaayy too gorgeous for it to be legal,” Tony said winking at her.

“You’ve got to be kidding me,” Pepper dead-panned.

“Tony we do not treat women like that,” Steve scolded.

“Tony?” Pepper popped.

“That’s my name don’t wear it out. Then again I can make an exception for you beautiful.”

“Wow,” Bruce chuckled from his spot on the loveseat,

“That’s Miss Potts to you, young man,” she said walking over to him and ruffling his hair.

“Woah hey hey. Don’t mess up the do, unless you like my hair messy. Then I definitely won’t comb it in the mornings anymore.”

“You’d do all that for me? I’m flattered.”

“I’d build you a tower if you asked me to. Say, “Miss Potts” do you like Legos?” he asked with his eyebrows raised a sly smile on his lips.

Pepper couldn’t hold back her laughter for a moment longer.

Steve managed to convince her to leave the living room; he then explained to her quietly what had happened from the fight with Hammer to Tony being 8 years old the very next day.

“I can handle the company for as long as it takes. I was in command during “the incident” which seemed to take months. This should be nothing. After all since it’s something Hammer made it’ll definitely wear off soon,” Pepper spoke tapping her fingers against her phone.

“That’s what everyone is saying, but I’m starting to get worried that-“

He was stopped by a small hand on his arm as he looked down at her bright eyes. She gave him a small smile, and he nodded in return. He let her leave with that small reassurance before going back to the living room.

“So do girls not like Legos anymore Miss Romanov?”

“No Tony, they like flowers, and chocolate, and being taken out to dinner, and movies.”

“That’s complicated…do you like that stuff?”

“Hmmmm, sometimes. Depends on who I’m getting it from, and what their intention is. Sometimes people who give me chocolate intend to kill me by lacing the centers with poison.”

Tony looked at her with something in between bafflement and the urge to question it further, but the look went away when Steve walked in.

“You’re not going out with Pepper are you?” Tony said with full attention.

Steve’s cheeks reddened at the insinuation as he sat down scratching his head. “No Tony. Miss Potts and I are only friends.”

“Good, my dad said that Aunty Peggy was waiting for you. Have you seen her yet? She’s as old as my mom, but she’s still really pretty. She told me she misses you, but for some reason she couldn’t see you yet. She said you two were going to go on a date when you got back, and now you’re back! So everything is okay now!” Tony said as he swayed in his seat.

Steve froze and gripped the arms of the seat til his knuckles turned white.

“Tony, maybe we shouldn’t talk about Aunty Peggy,” Natasha stated noticing Steve’s rather obvious behavior change.

“Oh all right I guess.”

“So Tony would you like to go down with me to the lab? I have a chemistry reaction viewing with your name on it,” Bruce stood from his chair.

“Heck yeah!” Tony bounced from his seat following after Bruce.

Natasha watched them go as she placed a hand onto Steve’s shoulder.

“Steve?”

“Aunty Peggy.”

“Steve. It’s all right. There’s nothing you could’ve done.”

“He never told me.”

“You know how he is about his past, but that Tony isn’t this Tony.”

“I could’ve been there!”

“No you couldn’t! You were a soldier doing what you had to.”

“I could’ve thought of something else,” he finished weakly.

“Could you have Steve? Was there really another way out.”

Steve’s posture slumped as he shook his head. Natasha wrapped her arms around his shoulders and lightly nudged him towards her. He wrapped his arms around her waist and held her tightly. It wasn’t enough to hurt, but just enough to know she was there. He could deal with this.

Later that night, Steve had composed himself enough to stop Tony from missing dinner, and had him in bed by 9. They had established bedtime to be 8, but Tony was really good at the puppy-eyes so he managed to get 2 episodes of his favorite show in before going to bed. Steve stayed up a while longer before he began his bed-time routine. He discovered that Tony liked sneaking out of his bed precisely one hour after “falling asleep” to steal snacks from the fridge and hang out with Clint mastering the vent system. JARVIS kept tabs on Tony’s movement so if he decided to skip out on bed time Steve could stop him before he got too far and send him back to bed. As he stepped out of the shower, he toweled off his hair and put on his pajamas. Tonight they consisted of a white tank top and plain blue boxers. He didn’t think he could stand wearing something like the Mickey Mouse ones he’d seen Tony in during that drunk game of strip poker.

Well everyone else was drunk, Steve was the mediator, to make sure no one attempted anything that would cause serious injury. He crawled into bed falling into what was usually a light, but well-deserved sleep after dealing with Tony’s daily child antics.

Steve woke up to a small form crawling into his bed, it was still dark, but the little light the moon provided allowed enough vision to see a small lump making its way towards him under the comforter.

“Tony?” he asked lifting the blanket.

The sight nearly broke his heart. Tony’s hair was a mess, his eyes were all red and puffy, tears stained his cheeks, and he sniffled pitifully.

“Tony,” he said with concern as he placed a hand onto his cheek rubbing away another tear.

“C-can I sleep w-with you?” he hiccupped.

“Of course you can,” Steve sighed making room for him.

“Th-thank you.”

Steve hmed and kissed the top of his head. Natasha was right, that Tony wasn’t this Tony. This Tony needed him.

***

It’d been a full 9 days before SHIELD scientists figured out what Hammer’s weapon was constructed for. Apparently it turned full metal structures into dust; however he never got to test it out on Iron Man like he wanted to. This meant Hammer didn’t turn Tony into a child, but someone else did.

“I believe my brother had a hand in this,” Thor offered.

“Well he has turned things into other things before. Remember that time he turned Natasha into a French poodle?” Clint said gleefully.

“Remember that time said French Poodle ripped up your room,” Natasha chimed in.

Clint pouted, and Steve decided to ignore them both.

“So if Loki is responsible for this, we just have to find him and make him turn Tony back right? I mean, that’s what we did last time, and he didn’t seem to mind at all,” Steve commented.

“Didn’t we have to flip Harlem upside down before we found a note he left saying he was in Chicago and would be back in New York in several days before he could go about changing Natasha back,” Bruce reminded them all.

“Well he hasn’t done anything really evil, or Loki-like for the past few months. Maybe this was the thing he did, and now he’s waiting for us to find him again,” Steve said again.

“Indeed! I shall retrieve my brother, and we shall settle this imme-“

The siren ripped through the house as JARVIS fitted a screen into view. Fury appeared on screen and spoke tersely of a new kind of doom bot Dr. Doom had built. It was able to withstand bullets, missiles, and they seemed to be hand-to-hand combat ready. They were told to take care of it immediately.

The Avengers stood from their seats before Steve managed to say, “Who’s going to watch Tony?”

They all looked back and forth from each other before Natasha rolled her eyes in defeat.

“I will. If they can take bullets, then they can likely take knives. Don’t expect me to be on baby-sitting duty when the next emergency rolls around.”

“Hopefully no one will be on baby-sitting duty when the next emergency rolls around,” Clint said under his breath as he went to gear up.

Steve was in full costume heading out the front door when he saw Tony looking at him and jumping with glee.

“Oh oh oh! You’re going off to fight a bad guy! Oh can I come please?! I’ve been practicing with Aunty Tasha! I can break someone’s arm now!”

“No you- wait what?! When did she teach you that? Never mind. You can’t go Tony. Stay here with Aunty Tasha until we get back. That’s an order,” Steve commanded as he went out the door, shield in hand.

Tony watched Steve go, when he turned around he spotted Natasha was holding a huge bag of chips and a horror movie.

“Steve said I wasn’t allowed to watch those,” he said smugly.

“What Steve doesn’t know won’t hurt him will it?”

“No. No it won’t.”

Steve did find out about the horror movies. He happened to catch the end of their Gremlin marathon, and Tony was scolded for it. Natasha wasn’t scolded for it because Steve   
doubted that even if he did scold her that it would get through. Tony didn’t have any nightmares that night or several nights later even after watching Scream, Leprechaun, 3 Freddy Krueger movies, Gremlins 1 and 2, and a Jason Voorhees film.

Apparently the child was impervious to nightmares due to scary movies. At least that’s what he kept telling Steve. Thor had gone to look for his brother after the doom bot battle.   
Tony unfortunately heard that part of the conversation and was now waiting eagerly for Loki to come to the mansion as the days went on. Against all of Tony’s previous bragging, the child did have another nightmare. It wasn’t due to the scary movies though. He refused to tell Steve anything about them, but he did stop watching the horror films in exchange for sci-fi ones.

The entire time Tony was a child Steve did notice something about him. He followed Steve to a lot of places in the mansion. He looked at him during meals as Steve talked with pure wonder in his eyes. It didn’t matter what Steve was talking about, Tony was either amazed at the feats Captain America achieved, or by how normal Steve Rogers was. He asked him for advice on how to talk to people. He obeyed (most) of the rules set by him. He idolized Steve. It was a little unnerving sometimes, but even this Tony had seen that this was more than just Captain America. His idol was Steve Rogers. His dad’s best friend. A true hero in every aspect.

One day in the gym, Tony had started babbling again, so Steve was teaching him how to be better at playing basketball. As Tony missed another shot he sighed loudly causing the sounds to echo off the walls.

“What is it this time Tony?”

“I’m no good at basketball.”

“Okay. What are you good at then?”

“…baseball,” he muttered.

“Baseball? I love baseball.”

“Really?! Me too!”

“I would think so since you play it. Are you on a team?”

“Yeah, we’re out for the season right now. We’re the Rumbling Roosters. It’s a dumb name, but it fits. Oh! You and dad can come to my game next season!” He said his face fell a little after he realized what he said and shook his head numbly.

“Woah woah, what’s with that look?”

“I don’t think you’ll be able to come to my games.”

“Well why not?”

“Because…because dad said, dad just didn’t have time. And you guys are super heroes so. So you don’t need to come to my game. It’s not important. Nevermind.”  
“Tony.” Steve put his hands on Tony’s shoulders.

“Tony look at me.” He waited until Tony looked at him almost shyly under his lashes.

“Tony your games are so important. If we don’t have time, then we’ll make time. That’s what super heroes do too. They make time for the important stuff,” Steve said with a smile.

Tony beamed at him and wrapped his small arms as tightly as he could around Steve’s middle.

“Thank you Steve. I knew you coming back would make everything better. You always fix things that are broken. That’s why you’re my hero,” Tony mumbled into Steve’s shirt.  
Steve’s throat grew tight as he held onto the small boy. Tony slowly pulled away, looking at him with sheer admiration, before darting out of the gym.

“Oh Tony,” Steve sighed out.

***

Natasha was teaching Tony a grappling move in the gym. Clint had offered to help demonstrate as Tony watched avidly from his spot in the safe zone on the floor.

“Now this works for guys 2-4 times your own size so always use it wisely,” she said grabbing Clint by the inside of his wrist and elbow. She turned digging her shoulder into his stomach before flipping him over onto his back.

“You have to pinch the nerves on the inside to get your grip. It’s also so they are temporarily immobilized keeping them from putting a hand on you,” she explained helping him off the floor.

“Natasha I don’t care what anyone else says you are the coolest Avenger to ever exist ever.”

“Even cooler than Captain America?”

“Aaaallmost cooler than Captain America.”

“Are you sure he should be learning this Natasha?” Steve’s voice rang out.

“Of course Steve.”

“Yeah Steve. I mean what if I get kidnapped? I’ll have to know this stuff just in case.” Tony said with a shrug.

Thor bursted into the room with Loki following behind his expression clipped.

“Friends I have retrieved my brother-“

“Loki the God of Mischief and Chaos!? AAAAAAAAAAAAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH” Tony screamed as he scrambled from his spot sprinting over to the brothers.

“Oh my god! Oh my god! Oh my god! You’re so awesome!” Tony shrieked as he looked up at the dark-haired god.

“Why thank you. It’s always nice to meet a fan.” Loki said placing a hand on top of Tony’s head. His eyes flashed before a grim smile laced his lips. “I need to speak with the dear captain for a moment. I’m sure you can all occupy yourselves as we talk alone.”

The group gave him wary looks, except for Tony who looked disappointed, as they filed out of the room. Loki stopped Tony soon enough to give him a small bar of chocolate before letting him go.

“Is that going to change him back?”

“Of course not. You’re going to change him back.”

“What?”

“This isn’t my magic Captain.”

“Who’s magic is it?”

“The sorceress Andromeda. A constant pain in my side to be honest, but it is her magic at hand here not my own. In fact, I was enjoying a well-deserved vacation, and as I was going to get a very special treatment from a handsome masseuse my brother comes storming in, no pun intended, demanding that I revert the man of iron to his regular state,” Loki explained.

“Andromeda? Why did she do this?”

“I don’t know, but I could find out for a price.”

“No thank you. What do I have to do to change Tony back?”

“Andromeda’s magic isn’t more powerful than my own, but it’s intentions are always darker. It weaves and constructs itself as time passes to become something disgusting. I can’t stand the woman.”

“Loki-!“

“-I’m getting to it calm down. Andromeda has de-aged Stark to this point for a reason. It is likely his childhood was shattered from this point. Once you find out what it is that ruined Starks view of the world it must be you who tells him that it happened.”

“Why me?”

“Because you’re the one closest to him. You’ve lied about something she knew you would have to lie about. Kept some kind of secret from him that you’ll have to reveal. You’re the one it’ll hurt the most to hear from. That’s what Andromeda does. She finds a crack in someone’s wall and she splits it open as wide as she can,” Loki said with a wave.

“And the chocolate? Tony isn’t supposed to have unhealthy snacks.”

“The chocolate will keep Stark from being subjected to anymore of Andromeda’s magic after you shatter his childhood. When you shatter his childhood he shall return to normal overnight.”

“Since this isn’t your magic why are you helping at all?”

“If there’s going to be any magic wielding down upon you and your unruly band it should be by me and mine alone for my own amusement. Even I have class enough not to stoop this low. Good luck Captain.” Loki finished as he vanished from sight.

Steve bit his tongue and stared at the ground. 

He had to shatter Tony’s childhood.

***

He was using the cellphone adult Tony had given him to call Pepper asking her what she did know about Tony’s past. Anything that could help at all, even something small to figuring out what changed Tony from the child he is to the man he had become.

“Look Steve I don’t know what else to tell you. I don’t think anything happened that seriously around that age,” her voice fluttered into his ear.

“Pepper. I know he’s 8,but-“

“I’m not 8. I’m 10,” Tony chimed in.

“You’re ten?” Steve asked. Pepper gasped on the other end of the line, and he heard a small “oh no” before looking at Tony again.

“Yeah I know I’m kind of small for a 10 year old, but what can you do? I’m waiting for my next growth spurt,” Tony said sitting on the stool at the small island.

“Pepper?”

“Tell Pepper I said hi!”

“Tony’s parents died in a crash when he was ten. Someone had lied about filling up the tank before they took off. The pilot didn’t know,” Pepper said quietly.

“Oh my-..”Steve swallowed his words and ended the call.

“What is it?” Tony said drawing random figures onto the counter.

“Tony we need to talk.”

“About what?”

“About your parents.”

“Oh? They’re back already huh. I guess I should’ve figured that out though. My dad doesn’t take too long to get stuff done.”

“Tony. They died.”

Tony looked at Steve his eyes crest-fallen before a small “what?” escaped his lips.

“Kept a secret from him that you have to reveal.” Loki’s words rang again in Steve’s head.

“They died…in a plane crash. They didn’t drop you off here. I lied,” Steve said feeling the lump in his throat grow wider with each sentence.

“No. No no no. You can’t lie! Everyone else can lie, but you can’t! You’re Captain America. You’re my dad’s friend. His best friend! My parents are okay! Everyone’s okay! He’s coming back! He’s coming to my games now that you’re here! You said he would! You said he’d come, and you’d come too!” He got up from his seat and started hitting Steve’s stomach with clenched fists.

“Tony-“

Steve grabbed his wrists and Tony pulled away as tears ran down his face.

“No! No no no no no no no no! You don’t mean it! You’re going to fix it! You fix everything! You always do! This isn’t fair! You can’t do this! My parents aren’t dead! They’re okay! You said they’re coming back! You said so!” He sobbed out.

“Tony I’m sorry, but they’re not coming back. I’m so sorry Tony.”

“No you’re not! I thought you were my hero! I thought I could trust you! I thought I could believe in you but I can’t. You’re just a liar! You’re just like everybody else!” he screamed as he stumbled out of the kitchen.

Tony had locked himself inside of his room the entire day. No one mentioned what happened in the kitchen, but Steve couldn’t feel relief at even that small mercy. Tony had been   
so broken. Is that how he reacted when someone else told him? How long had the little boy been waiting for Captain America to come back and fix everything? His whole life   
probably. The more he thought about it the more he wanted to puke. Steve was Tony’s hero. He was all Tony had ever looked forward to being in life. Steve was Tony’s whole world back then. Andromeda had gone out of her way and shattered that with one well-aimed spell.

Tony was right. 

This wasn’t fair.

***

The next morning Steve found a very adult and very incoherent Tony Stark sitting at the island. He wore a black tank top; the arc reactor shined brightly underneath the fabric, his red Mickey Mouse boxers, and clutched the black mug of coffee in his hand like a lifeline. Steve startled the man into nearly dropping his coffee as he held onto him tightly.

“You’re back,” he muttered into his shoulder.

“Thanks to you.”

“I’m sorry.”

“It’s not your fault. You did what you had to…I met with Andromeda last night.”

“And?”

“She won’t be messing with the Avengers anymore.”

“What did you do?”

Tony smirked into his mug as he took another sip.

“As Natasha would say, what you don’t know won’t hurt ya Cap.”

**Author's Note:**

> Non Beta-ed   
> If there are any mistakes let me know.  
> Comments are welcome.


End file.
